Having met Philip a couple of times and exchanged a few emails, and having met Bruner a couple of times - I can attest that Philip is not even close to being anything like Bruner. Philip is very strongly tied to the success of Falcon and from everything I have ever heard from him, he is telling it straight. Bruner was a promoter through and through.

I still think that Inpex and Total are the best potential JV partners, but if Inpex is negotiating with Falcon - it may still be a while yet. I have dealt with the Japanese a few times in the past, and they are very tough negotiators and very detail orientated, so any JV with them will be thorough and may take a bit of extra time.